Worries and fears about bodily sensations or processes

Learn more about sensorimotor/somatic OCD symptoms, common signs, and effective treatment options. 

April Kilduff, MA, LCPC

Sensorimotor (Somatic) OCD: Symptoms and Treatment

If you can’t stop paying attention to your swallowing, it might be related to a larger health issue, like somatic OCD.

Diana Matthiessen, LMSW

Why Can’t I Stop Focusing on My Swallowing?

Intrusive thoughts, rumination, and certain types of OCD can cause sensory overload—but it’s also something that can affect anyone.

OCD and Sensory Issues: Understanding the Connection

Excessive blinking is a behavior associated with many medical conditions. Find out what causes this symptom and what treatments can help manage it.

Patrick McGrath, PhD

Why Do I Blink So Much? The Causes of Excessive Blinking

You’re not enjoying the counting—it’s distracting, and it makes you feel tense. It feels impossible to stop, but it's not. Here's what you can do.

I’m constantly counting my steps. Is it OCD?

Somatic OCD fear of staring involves fears about staring excessively at things or people, often at body parts of others. 

Fears about staring

If you’re experiencing obsessions about how you chew, including a hyperawareness of how you are chewing, or recurring fears about your chewing or swallowing, this could be a sign of OCD. 

Fears about chewing

OCD fear of proximity involves uncomfortable reactions to proxemics such as obsessive worries focused on proximity or space to others.

Taylor Newendorp

Fear of proximity

Somatic OCD, a subtype of OCD, causes anxiety and fear related to non-conscious functions within the body such as fear of breathing.

Fears or Worries about Breathing

With fear of swallowing OCD, the sufferer experiences a hyperfocus on the mechanics of swallowing or other sensations related to eating food.  

Sensorimotor OCD